Overview of Retirement Planning
Planning for retirement covers more than just financial planning. Planning for retirement is an activity that you and your spouse or partner do together. Your financial planning for retirement is driven by your retirement goals. Here are the basic steps involved.
The first step is self-assessment. The task is to focus on what your needs and desires are. You'll use the results of your self-assessment to set the goals that you want to achieve. These questions may provide a place to start.
- Do I (we) want to work after retirement? If so, what would I (we) like to do and what are my (our) options?
- What kind of lifestyle do I (we) want?
- Do I (we) want to volunteer?
- Do I (we) want to travel?
- Do I (we) have any particular activities in mind?
- Do I (we) have any hobbies I (we) want to pursue?
- Do I (we) need any additional skills or knowledge to do what I (we) want?
- Where do I (we) want to live?
Gather information. Once you've completed your self-assessment, the next step is to gather any information you might need in order to set your goals.
Set goals. Next comes setting goals so that you'll be prepared when you retire. For each goal, write a goal statement that identifies who will do what by when. Write down all the actions that are needed to reach the goal. For each action, also list who will do what by when. Being very specific will help you to accomplish the goals.
The last step is to regularly review and update your plans. It's not unusual for goals and plans to change. Even after you've retired, a regular review and reassessment can be fruitful.
The bottom line: Only you know what you want out of your retirement so only you can plan for it.
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220 Donald Lynch Boulevard, PO Box 9130, Marlborough, MA 01752-9130 • 800.328.8797
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